Will McAvoy
| residence = New York, United States of America | education = Law school | affiliation = Brooklyn District Attorney News Night | profession = Brooklyn District Attorney: Prosecutor News Night: Anchor | father = | mother = | siblings = | marital = Single | spouse = | children = | sigothers = MacKenzie McHale (ex-girlfriend) | others = | actor = Jeff Daniels | seasons = 1 | episodes = 5 appearances, 0 mentions | firstseen = | lastseen = }} William Duncan McAvoy is the lead anchor on News Night. He became popular for his ability to not bother anyone during his work and has been called the Jay Leno of news anchors. Before he was an anchor, he was a prosecutor and had managed a 94% conviction rate. This was a main reason that Charlie hired him to become an anchor for News Night. In 2010, during a political college panel, He received a great deal of fame after declaring America to no longer be the greatest country in the world, displaying a great deal of data to a college audience while being filmed. He took a two week break to avoid publicity for his words and returned to work, only to eventually notice that his staff were missing. He discovered that Don Keefer and Elliot Hirsch had convinced the staff to join them in their departure from the show. After meeting with Keefer and Hirsch, Charlie told him that MacKenzie McHale was the replacement executive producer for Keefer. Will disagreed with the decision and went to his agent to find out why he had no approval power over the decision. Biography Early life William Duncan McAvoy was born in Nebraska in the United States of America. When he was 11 years old, he took tap dancing lessons. Will graduated from College at the age of 19. Law career When he was 21, Will graduated from Law school and signed up for the Brooklyn District Attorney's office as a prosecutor where he managed a 94% conviction record. News Night In 2005, Will and MacKenzie McHale began dating. During their time together, Will took her father to an Orioles game. Her father later offered Will a pint, but they ended up having three. Will and MacKenzie's father met up with her and her mother, both of them drunk. In 2007, after two years of dating, Will broke up with MacKenzie after she cheated on him with her ex-boyfriend, who had earlier dumped her. This broke his heart, as he loved MacKenzie very dearly. It was only after that she cheated on him, that she realized she, too, loved him. Popularity McAvoy was called the Jay Leno of news anchors and was said to be popular due to the fact that he doesn't bother anyone in a Vanity Fair piece written by Marshall Westbrook. Panel Disaster In 2010, McAvoy attended a panel discussion at Northwestern University that included a liberal television presenter and a conservative panelist. During the panel, he was asked what his political affiliations were. He replied ambiguously, but stated that he had voted for political candidates in both parties. Eventually, he was asked why he thought America was the greatest country in the world. He replied with brief joking answers, but the panel's moderator held him to an answer. McAvoy reacted with an honest, blunt, and beautifully delivered indictment of the state of American culture. He took the position that "America is not the greatest country in the world," after believing to see MacKenzie McHale in the audience holding signs reading "It's Not" and "But It Can Be" (in response to the question "Why is America the greatest country in the world?") Although he ended his tirade on a positive note, the speech would change his career, and his life, irreversibly. After leaving the stage, his debate partners demanded an explanation from Will for the spectacle they had just witnessed. Exasperated, McAvoy expressed that had not realized what he had said. Break from Work After the panel, to avoid the publicity, Will took a two week break from the show, traveling to Saint Lucia for his vacation. He brought Erin Andrews along with him. Loss of Staff On April 20, 2010, three weeks after his breakdown at the panel, Will returned and walked into his office without noticing that most of his staff were missing. He eventually looked out from his office and asked where everyone was. He was then told to go see Charlie Skinner and remained lost as to the situation. None of the remaining staff would inform him of what happened. Disappointed, he left for Charlie's office. After entering Charlie's office, he was told that his executive producer, Don Keefer and his co-anchor, Elliot Hirsch was intending to take the staff and leave the show. He and Charlie left the office and went to approach Don. After confronting and arguing with Don and Elliot, Will eventually surrendered to the fact that, in his opinion, Don was always the smartest staff member at News Night and informed him that he was leaving a sinking ship. Don agreed to help the new executive producer before he leaves. Replacement Executive Producer After meeting with Don and Elliot, Will and Charlie had lunch. At the lunch, Charlie informed Will that the replacement executive producer was MacKenzie McHale. Will disagreed with the decision and left to discuss with his agent, why he didn't have approval. After returning to the studio, Will revealed in a meeting in his office with MacKenzie that he ended up negotiating to change her contract from three definite years to 156 possible weeks in which he could fire her. The deal cost Will $3 million to the network from his contract. Deepwater Horizon oil spill During his meeting with MacKenzie, a report came in to the studio that an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Don Keefer and MacKenzie's staffer, Jim Harper argued in the studio about informing Will about the incident, but Keefer told Jim not to tell him. Eventually, Keefer ordered Jim out of the studio, but he decided to burst into Will's office, interrupting Will and MacKenzie's meeting. Keefer continued to object Jim telling the story to Will, but will decided that if Don didn't want him to hear it, that he wanted to hear it. Jim told him the story and the staff jumped into action. Will had anyone moving to 10:00 with Elliot and Don to leave for a paid vacation. Will then enlisted the help of his staff, including Margaret Jordan and Neal Sampat to work on the story. After a few meetings, Will got ready and put his suit on. He made his way to the anchor table and read over his notes as information came in from the staff through his ear-piece. Though an argument occurred with MacKenzie, Will eventually let her know that he understood her before they went live. He interviewed three people involved with the companies that revolved around the Deepwater Horizon, managing to successfully question them and bringing in good news coverage. After the show ended, Will was applauded by the staff. Celebrated broadcast After the broadcast, Charlie approached Will, congratulated him on a good job and discussed the events of the day, as well as the way that the news was once presented in the past. Charlie then left, leaving Will a bottle of alcohol. On his way home, he stopped by a behind-the-scenes booth and informed them that he had the best team in television, but soon discovered that it wasn't his booth. At the elevators, he and MacKenzie had a conversation regarding their relationship past. He revealed that he remembered the day he spent with her father and that he gave his speech regarding America's status as the greatest country in the world because he thought he saw her in the audience. The elevator doors closed, but MacKenzie tried to say something more, an attempt to reveal that it was, indeed, her. Learning his Staff After his first report on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Will spent time in his apartment learning the names of all of his staff. On April 23rd, he ended up entering work with their names memorized. During his memorization, pieces of his ceiling fell onto his desk. He was confused as to how it could have happened until he was told that it was his neighbors upstairs that caused the damage. News Night 2.0 When Will arrived at work, MacKenzie informed him that she was holding a meeting with the staff regarding the new plan for News Night, which she called News Night 2.0. Will and MacKenzie entered a briefing room where they began the meeting with the staff. MacKenzie began presenting her plan on a whiteboard. Helping others That night, at his apartment, Will made a call to Neal and decided to show his kinder side. He made sure to have a taxi sent to the man that Neal found in Spokane, who's drivers license was revoked and to bill him for it. Will refused Neal's offer to post the story on his blog. He then asked Neal to give the phone to MacKenzie. He told her that he was in for her name plan and that he'll see her on Monday. Before they hung up, she asked and he confirmed that he'd still be worried about the ratings, being popular and being loved by strangers. After hanging up, Will gazed upon the Statue of Liberty from his balcony. On air apology Following the disastrous broadcast Will prepared and issued an on air apology for his failings as Managing Editor of News Night. He pledged to do better in reporting the news to inform the electorate. Mac welcomed the move and helped Will to craft the speech, including a rehearsal in front of their staff. He also worked closely with Jim Harper, Neal Sampat, and Maggie Jordan on writing copy for the apology. The apology aired at the opening of the show on Monday, April 26, 2010. Times Square bombing attempt On Saturday, May 1, 2010 a bombing attempt in Times Square, New York City is diffused without casualties after street vendors report a smoking vehicle to the police. On Monday, May 3, 2010 the perpetrator Faisal Shahzad is arrested at John F. Kennedy airport. At a News Night staff meeting on Tuesday, May 4, 2010, they decide not to criticize the system which successfully caught the would be terrorist bomber when he was boarding the plane. Despite the failure of the airline to update their files in time to recognize that he had been added to a no fly list a second line of checks by Customs and Border Protection led to his successful arrest and Jim characterizes this as the system working. They agree to cover the story in just 3 minutes at the opening of their program and not to sensationalize the arrest or the religious beliefs of Shahzad. Maggie brings up international coverage of the story during the meeting and explains that while t-shirt vendor Lance Orton contacted the police it was a Senegalese Muslim immigrant who first noticed the smoking vehicle. He asked Orton to contact the authorities because he was concerned but did not want his poor English to garble the message. Maggie successfully argues that if the religion of the bomber is relevant then so is the religion of the man that saved hundreds of lives. News Night is one of the few American networks to report that the danger was first recognized by the Muslim street vendor. The 112th Congress elections New Year's 2011 Mission to Civilize Behind the Scenes Will is played by starring cast member Jeff Daniels. Appearances Category:Characters Category:Males Category:News Night staff Category:Atlantic Cable News employees Category:Americans